Actress, 'Splazsh' (Honest Jon's)

Producer Darren Cunningham isn't a time traveler, but he plays one on his second album as Actress. All scuffed and scarred silicon, Splaszh is like a cuneiform tablet from the future, which might explain why a collection of dystopian ambient house is being released on the ethnographically inclined Honest Jon's label. With beats sounding like they're muffled by cheesecloth and glassy synths muted like they're wrapped in cellophane, the Actress palette makes YouTube seem hi-fi. But beneath the stray bits and hiss, Splazsh's stoned dance grooves and stumbling, slo-mo electro-an odd mixture of Moodymann, Burial, and Boards of Canada-pull you into a world as immersive as the title promises.?